


Noise In The System

by orphan_account



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Outsiders type au, eastside vs westside, terf war, they're just kids man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-06 04:35:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16825258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Who’s coming to save you?”She clenched her jaw, “Nobody, I’ve gotta save myself.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so idk if im gonna continue this depends on the response i get to this chapter. this was originally a skimmons fic that i was really excited about and then i remembered that fitzsimmons owns that fandom and it got little to no recognition which just made writing it a chore. so if this fic gets positive feedback i'll be motivated to post more and the good news is i already have some of it written so the waits between chapters at first might not be terrible.

_ Yet from those flames, no light, rather darkness visible. _

_ -John Milton, in Paradise Lost _

_______________

  
  


It was a sunny day when the first of her many trials began. She saw the light streaming in through the windows into the apartment. She sat still as a blindfold was secured around her eyes, effectively blocking out the light. She heard someone sit down next to her and straightened her back slightly. This was an important stage in her testing. Most kids in the neighbourhood went through it when they turned 10. It was a precaution. They had to know how to protect themselves. They had to be smart.

Her father’s familiar voice sounded from next to her.

“Hold your hand out, palm up, Lexa.” She did as she was told, extending her palm outwards towards her father, “Good.” She felt the cold metal of a bullet being dropped into her hand, “What kind of round is in your hand?” She felt it for a moment before responding,

“.22,” It was quickly removed and replaced by another.

“What kinda round is it now?” She felt the new piece for a few moments,

“.380,” It was removed and another was placed in seconds later,

“And now?”

“.380 again,” She heard a hum of approval and the round was removed, replaced by another.

“What kinda round’s in your hand now?”

She paused, feeling around the hard metal, “.48- No-.45,”

“Good,” He took it back and she heard it being placed on the table. Moments later she felt a small handgun being placed in her hands, “Go.”

She reached for the table and pulled a mag up, pushing it into the mag slot and patting it just in case,

“Lexa, If you have a bunch of friends who aren’t doing shit are they an asset of a liability?” She cocked the gun and brought it up in a firing position before replacing it on the table in front of her, picking up a larger handgun.

“Liability,” She grabbed the next mag, shoving it into the slot and continuing the pattern.

“How many people are on the registered sex offender list?” She cocked the gun back with slight difficulty and aimed down the sights once again before placing it on the table next to the other one. She fumbled around the table for the next mag before picking it up and finding the large rifle sitting upside down on the table.

“750,000”

“Daddy taught you that you’re a commander so you can never be...?” He trailed off waiting for her to finish the sentence.

“Someone’s possession or bitch.” She pushed down on the mag, slotting it into place and picking the rifle up. She pulled the bolt back and aimed down the sights, ignoring burn in her small arms the gun caused.

“Good. Lexa, take your blindfold off.” 

She rested part of the gun on her lap and moved to pull the blindfold off her eyes. 

“Who’s coming to save you?”

She clenched her jaw, “Nobody, I’ve gotta save myself.”

“And if mommy and I die today then what’s your job?” He asked,

“Pick up where you and mommy left off and take care of the crew because they’re my family.”  
  
"And when you take over the business, what're you gonna do?"

"Use the skills and principles you taught me to lead our people to a better way of life,"

Her father paused for a moment before a proud smile overtook his face.

“Good job,” She set the rifle down on the table and he pulled her into a hug.

She grinned and hugged him back.

“I did well?”

“You did perfect, Heda,”  
  


__________

When she was six, she’d become best friends with a girl named Anya. By the time she was seven, they were inseparable.

One day, not long after her 12th birthday they entered Lexa’s house after school and her father sat waiting at the table. Anya waved,

“Hey Mr. Woods,” Her father smiled at the girl,

“Hey, Anya, why don’t you head over to Lexa’s room. I need to talk to her.” Anya nodded,

“Sure thing.” She slipped her shoes off and set her bag down by the door before moving down the hallway. Her father waved her over and she sat down across from him at the table. She took note of the gun and empty mag sitting next to it between them. 

“How was school?” 

“It was good, I passed my English test.” She said, grinning with pride. He gave her a smile.

“Good. Now,” His proud expression immediately shifted into a serious one, “I’m in danger and you have three seconds to save my life.”

Her mind quickly shifted into alert mode and she reached across the table for the mag and gun. She slammed the mag into the pistol, clicking the safety off and aimed over her father’s shoulder. Quickly, she fired the empty gun. 

It clicked softly and her father chuckled.

“You’re getting faster,” She grinned and set the gun down, “But-” He said, his voice becoming slightly more serious, “That was about four and a half seconds. It’s not a lot but it could mean the difference between saving me and avenging me.” 

She nodded with all the seriousness an eleven-year-old could muster before he smiled at her and nodded towards her room.

“Go ahead and play. Your mother’s making burgers for dinner, go ask Anya if she wants to stay then let the blocks kids know they’re welcome by if they ask their parents.”

She grinned and skipped off towards her room.

“Got it!”  
  


__________

It was raining on the day of her parent’s funeral. Anya stood beside her, her shoulder pressed tight against hers as tears slipped down her face. 

Her godfather, a man named Titus -who she scarcely knew except for the fact that he was her father’s most trusted advisor- stood slightly behind her with a kind hand on her shoulder. 

As the graves were lowered into the ground side by side Lexa’s quiet crying turned quickly into a body shaking sobs. 

It was raining on the day Lexa’s world crumbled.   
  


__________

She got into her first real fight when she was thirteen. 

It was also the first time she was really discriminated against for where she lived. 

An Eastsider named Cage and some of his buddies surrounded her on her way back home from school one day. 

That was the first time she was thankful for the fact that Titus acted more like a mentor than a father figure.

Cage went home with a black eye and Lexa went home with her first enemy.  
  


__________

Despite all her parent's training when she was younger, she’d never  _ actually _ fired a gun.

Titus took her to a gun range when she graduated middle school as a sort of graduation gift.

As she stood down the range and aimed the pistol in her hand, she felt something in her calm. 

This control was something she had craved since her parents were taken from her.

The irony wasn’t lost on her that the same kind of weapon she held in her hands was used to kill them.

__________

After that, the basic self-defence he’d taught her was replaced by actual lessons.

The woman who taught her’s name was Indra. By the time Lexa was 16, she was able to fight off a grown man.

  
___________  


Lexa was scrambling around her room to grab her things as Anya’s voice called through her door.

“Lexa, if you don’t get up Gustus, is going to leave without us and if I have to walk to school because of you again I’m going to kick your ass-”

She opened the door, a grin on her face.

“Let’s go then,” She said, slightly breathless.

Anya rolled her eyes and turned, walking down the hall of Titus’s house and out the door. Lexa waved at her godfather who sat at the kitchen table.

“See you later, Titus!” 

“Text me if you’re going somewhere after school,” He yelled as she left the house. She raised her hand in a thumbs up so he could see and then closed the front door behind her. Anya was walking towards the passenger side door of Gustus’s car -an old 2003 honda civic- when Lexa jogged past her.

“Shotgun!” She called, darting past Anya. 

The older girl gave her an unimpressed look but got into the back seat anyways. Lexa flashed a grin and climbed into the front seat. She dropped her backpack by her feet and nodded at Gustus. She pulled her seatbelt on as he responded with a gentle “Hey,”

He started driving and stopped at Lincoln’s house. They waited for a minute before Lincoln left the house, his backpack swinging on one shoulder. 

“Hey guys,” He said as he settled in his seat. They all replied with similar greetings before they fell silent. The only sound being the low music from the radio.

It wasn’t long before Gustus and Anya began conversing quietly in Trig, a language that had evolved in their neighbourhood for generations. Lexa let their voices fade into background noise as they drove through the worn down Westside streets. 

The conditions of the road and houses better slightly the further away from their houses they drove. 

Finally, they arrived at the school and Gustus stopped near the front door, letting them out so he could go park. 

Lincoln walked with her as she made her way to their new homerooms.

“You think we’re gonna be outnumbered again this year?” He asked. Lexa sighed,

“Linc, we’re always outnumbered. There are more Eastsiders at the school.” He shrugged,

“That’s true but come on!” He said, a grin on his face, “Senior year, Lexa! Gotta hope for that fresh start.” She chuckled in response,

“I’m loving the optimism, Lincoln, it’s a great look on you,” She jested, bumping her shoulder into his. He gave her a charming grin.

“Everything is a great look on me. I look great.” Lexa snorted at that.

“You had to go and ruin it didn’t you,” 

She ignored his fake-wounded look and walked into what was going to be her homeroom for the rest of the year. She paused, taking a moment to take in the faces of those who were already in the room. It wasn’t everyone, probably about half of the total class.

She recognized most of them, Nyko sat somewhere in the back, sketching something out. Fio was off to the side by the windows, looking at something in the distance. 

And that was it. Her, Lincoln and the other two appeared to be the only Westsiders in the room.

Fuck.

She looked around a bit more and spotted Cage Wallace.

Double fuck.

A bit more looking revealed Carl Emerson and Lorelei Tsing sitting somewhat near the front.

There it was, the rare triple fuck.

Lincoln walked in beside her, scanned the room and scowled.

“Yeah,” She muttered, “That’s what I was thinking,” 

He shook his head,

“Come on let’s just get some seats.” They made their way towards the back of the class and sat down at the back row.

Lexa hooked her bag on her chair and leaned back, resting her feet on the edge of the desk. 

She sat like that for a few minutes, scrolling through her phone as the classroom around her slowly filled up.

She felt Lincoln tap her leg,

“Who’s that?” She looked up from her phone in time to see someone enter.

Her eyes were drawn to the girl.

Fuck she was pretty.

She quickly averted her gaze when the girl looked in her direction and they made eye contact.

Turning to look at Lincoln she shrugged.

“Dunno,” She looked towards the front again where the girl had taken up residence in the front row, “Must be new.” Their school wasn’t huge. With only a small number of 600 total students through the four grades, it was unusual for her to not know everyone- at least by face.

He nodded, “Yeah must be,”

She thinks she hears an Eastsider who she knows as Raven Reyes calling her “Griffin” but she’d deny if you asked.

She wasn’t paying attention to her.

Not at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yall seemed to want more 
> 
> once again i only keep posting if yall keep showing interest so show love n shit ya dig

_ We are not dirty, he keeps saying, we are not dirty… -Richard Siken Bot _

_______________

  
  


It was out of the corner of her eye that she noticed Quint and a freshman on the far side of the campus. But after she saw them, it was hard to move her eyes away. She tried to pry her eyes away and focus on the story Anya was telling the group. Something about the most recent development in the prank war between her and her sister Tris. She looked back to the two boys across the space and noticed Quint reach into his pocket. He pulled out a small back and gestured at it then at the freshman. Lexa's jaw clenched.

“And then she took her bandana off- of course, I knew it was her, I’d recognize that hair anywhere-”

“Guys,” She cut Anya off, pushing off the table to her feet, “I’ll be right back,” She muttered, ignoring the questioning looks of the others. 

She crossed the quad quickly, coming up behind Quint. 

The freshman noticed her and his eyes went wide. He quickly took a few steps back.

“What the hell-” Quint turned around in time for Lexa to clap her hand down hard on his shoulder. When he realized it was her he dropped the hand he was no doubt about to use to shove her off, “Lexa,” He said, exhaling the name, “Of course it’s you.”

She gave him a sarcastic smile, “What, you aren’t more excited? How about you introduce me to your friend here?” The question came out as more of a command.

“This is Myles,” He gestured at the nervous looking boy across from them, “Myles want to explain to Lexa what you came to see me for?” He asked, looking a tad nervous himself.

“I- A buddy of mine said I could get Red from him,” He admitted, taking another step backwards, “But you know what, I- uh, I should get going.” He pointed his thumb behind him, in the direction of a group of freshmen. She nodded at him.

“Probably a good idea Myles.” He nodded and turned away, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste.

She tightened the grip she had on Quint’s shoulder. He hissed as her nails dug in through his thin t-shirt.

“Ouch- Christ you’ve made your point!” He exclaimed, grabbed her wrist and pulling at the arm.

She didn’t remove her grip, however.

“Have I? Because Titus made it very clear before the year started that you were not to be dealing Red at school. Especially not to fucking freshmen,” She snapped, gesturing in the direction Myles had left in. 

“I said-” This time he shoved her hand away hard and she let it drop down, “I’ve got it.” He had a foul expression on his face, “It won’t happen again.”

She nodded, “Just keep it out of school Quint, if you get caught again they’ll expel you.” He sighed, his anger dissipating slightly.

“I know, you’re right. You’re right.” She nodded, patting his arm once before turning around. 

She barely made it a step before she collided with someone. On instinct she reached out, steadying the body that threatened to knock them both down. 

She quickly took in the fact that the person she had stopped from ramming them both over was the new girl she’d seen in her homeroom the past few days. She had yet to have a conversation with her.

“Oh god- Sorry I wasn’t paying attention and Monty told me to meet him but I couldn’t find where he wanted me to meet him. The instructions he was giving me were shit and I was staring at my phone,”    
  
Lexa cut her off with a small chuckle, “Hey, you’re fine. No worries.”

The other girl stopped, her mouth open before snapping it shut.

“You’re ah- very solid,”

A small blush rose in her face as she looked down, realizing she still had a hold on the other girl’s hip and wrist. She released her and stepped back.

“Clarke, right?”

A look of confusion passed over the other girl’s face.

“Yeah, Clarke Griffin. How did you-”

“We have a few classes together. I’m usually near the back.” Clarke gave her a smile at that.

“Right! Well, I’ll definitely be looking out for you,” She said, a small smile on her face. Lexa laughed softly, looking away for a moment. 

“So, you still lost?” Clarke laughed in embarrassment,

“Like super fucking lost.”

Lexa laughed and gave her a smile, “How about you tell me where you’re headed and I can direct you,” She suggested. The other girl gave her a bright nod.

“Right- Monty wants me to meet him in the auditorium because he’s in the stage crew. He’s gonna show me around and stuff to see if I’m into it because my mom wants me to join at least one extracurricular… and I’m rambling again” She stopped talking and nodded as she said it.

Lexa shrugged with a grin, “Only a bit.” She turned, angling her body towards the school and pointing to a set of doors, “You wanna head through there. Take the second right and follow it ‘till the end of the hallway.” 

“Thank you so much!” She glanced down at her phone, “Oh damn, I really do need to go,” She started walking backwards, still looking at Lexa, “You never told me your name!” She exclaimed, her voice rising as she got further.

“It’s Lexa,” She called back. Clarke grinned again at that, still walking backwards. Lexa opened her mouth to warn the girl as another student neared bumping into her. She just closed it as the two bumped shoulders, prompting a yelp from the blonde girl. She huffed a laugh and turned back towards the table where the others sat and made her way back.

As she sat down Anya let out a whistle, “What was that between you and the new girl?” Lexa raised a brow at the girl as she popped a baby carrot from Lincoln’s lunch into her mouth- ignoring his protest.

“What was what?” The other girl shook her head.

“Don’t give me that! She was blushing, you were touching her arm and hip. I know the Lexa charm when I see it.” She said, pointing her fork in Lexa’s direction from across the table.

She snorted, “I don’t have a ‘Lexa charm’, what’re you talking about?” Beside Anya, Lincoln shook his head.

“Nah, you’re full of shit,” He said between bites, “Anya’s right. You do this thing where you smile and duck your head and bite your lip. Poor girl never stood a chance.” He said, shaking his head and faking a sombre expression.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “You two are ridiculous. Tell ‘em, Gus.” 

He gave her a sympathetic look, “Sorry Lexa, you were totally giving that girl the Lexa charm.”

Lexa placed a hand on her chest, “Et Tu, Gustus,” She said, pulling a scandalized expression. 

He snorted at her before returning to his food.

“I mean I can’t blame you,” Lincoln said, shrugging, “She’s definitely hot.”

Anya nodded, “Oh yeah, for sure.” The two exchanged a look, “If you weren’t putting the moves on her I might have to.”

Lexa looked down at her own lunch, scowling at the sandwich as if it’d personally offended her.

“Exactly!” Anya exclaimed.

Lexa rolled her eyes again.

“Whatever, she’s cute, I flirted with her. I flirt with cute girls all the time. Nothing’s gonna come of it, she’s an Eastsider. Nice or not, no Eastsider wants their kid dating a Westsider. ‘Specially not a Woods.” She said with a shrug. 

“Give yourself more credit, Lexa, everyone knows dating a gang member means guaranteed protection,” Lincoln gested. She chuckled at the comment.

“Alright, alright, enough. Let me eat my lunch in peace.”

“Whatever you say,” Anya said, giving her a smirk.  
  


__________

Lexa fanned herself with the stiff collar of the gym uniform she’d been given earlier that day. Coach Jaha insisted they were new, Lexa was skeptical.

They’d just finished playing dodgeball which was a treat. The coach always let them pick their own teams when they played dodgeball and it tended to devolve into a very violent game of eastside versus westside. Today they were lucky that the only injury today was a bloody nose for a guy from her neighbourhood named Semet.

They didn’t play dodgeball very often (for obvious reasons).

They’d lost the match so they stayed behind to clean up the dodgeballs while the others went and got ready to go home. That was one of the only rules everyone at the school could agree on. If you lost in gym, you cleaned up. She leaned over to pick up one of the balls from the floor. When she unbent she noticed Clarke -changed out of her gym uniform already- standing a couple feet away with a ball in her hand, looking flushed.

Lexa raised a brow at her and the other girl smiled and waved at Lexa. Lexa waved back.

“Why’re you helping clean up Clarke? You guys won.” She threw the ball in her hand towards Anya who caught it and stuffed it in the sack by her feet.

Clarke looked confused, “Why would we leave you to clean up alone?”

Lexa chuckled, “Sort of unspoken rule, losers clean up,” She said with a shrug. Clarke seemed to be closer to Lexa now, perhaps having made her while closer while she threw the ball to Lincoln. At that, she reached forward and plucked the ball from the other girl’s hand and tossed it towards Anya. 

“You should go ahead,” The other girl looked as if she was going to protest so Lexa bumped her shoulder with the other girl’s, “Seriously, go ahead, we’re almost done here anyway.” She gave the other girl an encouraging smile. 

Before she could reply to Lexa’s words, someone called out to Clarke from across the gym.

“Clarke! What’re you doing with the Commander? Come on! We’ve got a movie to catch,” Finn, another senior called out. Lexa clenched her jaw at the taunt and looked in their direction. She recognized the eldest Blake sibling standing next to the other boy. Clarke gave her an apologetic look.

“I guess I’d better go, then,” She murmured. Lexa nodded, not quite taking her eyes off of Finn. The boy had much of the same mindset, fixing Lexa with a glare.

“I suppose so,” She looked away from Finn towards Clarke, “Have fun,” She said, hoping her smile was at least somewhat convincing.

“Griffin, let's go!” Bellamy’s voice was much louder and grating than Finn’s. Making it all the more annoying. Clarke gave her a final smile before walking towards the group. Lexa exhaled, seeing them say something and hearing Clarke’s laugh. 

It was a pretty laugh. 

She dismissed the thought. 

If Clarke was hanging out with the likes of Finn, there wouldn’t be many more friendly conversations between them in the future. She walked a few steps and picked up another ball. Perhaps whipping it slightly hard at Anya. She yelped when it hit her back, having been turned towards Gustus who was throwing her a ball. 

She whirled on Lexa, a glare on her face, “Watch it!” 

Lexa shook off the agitation she felt towards the other group and laughed, “Whoops, didn’t realize you weren’t looking,” She said with exaggerated innocence. 

She just turned around, grumbling as she put the balls away. 

She sighed and looked around the gym. Not spotting any stray balls, she headed off towards the girl’s locker room to change.

  
__________  


The afternoon heat had faded as the sun made its way out of the sky. They drove around in Gustus’s car now, no particular destination in mind. Just driving around the more broken down parts of town.

“We could go see a movie,” Anya suggested from the back seat. Gustus made a noncommittal noise.

“Nothing good is out,” He replied. Anya huffed.

“Got any better ideas?” No one spoke for a while and Gustus continued to cruise along. 

“We could just pick up some snacks and head to my place, watch some old shit?” Lexa suggested, looking into the rearview mirror at Lincoln and Anya. 

“That’ll definitely be cheaper,” Lincoln mused before nodding, “Yeah I’m down.” 

Gustus muttered something along the lines of, “finally” and he turned his blinker on, turning down a street towards the nearest corner store. Lexa pulled out her phone as they drove in silence, typing a quick text to Titus.

**Lexa [6:13]:** the crew and i are gonna be home in like thirty mins, they’re probably gonna stay over.

She sent it off as they pulled into the parking lot beside the corner store. Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down.

**Titus [6:14]:** Just don’t be too loud.

She pocketed the phone and climbed out of the car. 

“I’ve got five on me,” She said, pulling a bill out of her wallet.

“I’ve got ten,” Lincoln replied, handing her the bill. She nodded.

“Fifteen should be good,” She pocketed the cash and nodded towards the other side of the building where the entrance was. She had a certain tenseness in her shoulders. The store was somewhat between the two sides of town. Making it was easy to run into people who she would much rather not see. The four of them rounded the corner, Lexa walking at the front of the group. She saw three guys walking out of the store, laughing among themselves. They looked to be in their late teenage years, maybe early twenties. When she saw the handprint of white paint on their jackets she tensed. 

“Azgeda,” Lincoln murmured from behind her. She nodded minutely.

Azgeda was the worst of all the gangs that lived on the westside. 

To say the two groups didn’t get along well together would be putting it nicely. 

Thankfully they didn’t see them. They just turned the other way and continued walking. 

Lexa let out a relieved breath and continued forwards. As her hand landed on the door handle she heard shouts coming from across the street.

She looked over and felt a bit of dread as she saw the three Azgeda slapping each other’s shoulders and pointing at a girl across the street.

Octavia Blake. The girl was feisty, she’d give her that. But it would be 3 v 1. Those odds weren’t good for anyone.

Fuck.

“Guys,” She muttered, gesturing at what was happening.

The three were surrounding the girl and whistling, shouting comments that made Lexa’s stomach turn.

Gustus sighed, “Titus is gonna be pissed if we start something over some Eastsider.”

It was Lincoln who spoke in her defence, “I don’t know Gus... I’ve talked to her a few times before. Octavia’s not like them.”

Gustus went to say something in protest but Lexa’s mind was made up when one them grabbed her shoulders roughly.

“Come on,” She said, crossing the street. 

She didn’t bother turning around to see if they were following her. She knew they were.

When she got within talking distance she shouted out, “Hey!” She continued walking. The man closest to her turned around in confusion and she sent a fist into his nose. He stumbled backwards and shouted out in pain. The two others, one of who was holding Octavia from behind and the other who had been trying to grab the girl from the front turned to look at them. 

Octavia took the distraction and slammed her elbow into the stomach of the guy behind her. 

The guy Lexa’d punched turned back towards them, recovering from the punch. He rushed towards her and she ducked a punch towards her face only for him to get a shot in on her gut. She grunted, feeling the air rush from her lungs. Lexa was fast but this guy was  _ strong _ . They were close but the short distance between them allowed Lexa to grab him by his left shoulder and drive her knee into his right side. He stumbled backwards, clutching his ribs and gasping in pain.

Lexa did much the same, rubbing at her stomach for a moment before getting into a more readied stance. During the scuffle Octavia had moved so that she was closer to them, facing off against the Azgeda as well. Gustus came up beside her, drawing a switchblade from his pocket and flicking it out. 

The Azgeda arranged themselves across from them, two of them drawing switchblades of their own. 

They stood there for a few moments, some breathing heavy from fighting others not making as much noise.

Finally, Lexa spoke.

“I don’t like your odds here, boys.” She gestured at herself and the people behind her then at the three of them, “Five on three never ends well. Why don’t you head home with your tails between your legs before you get hurt.” They bristled at the insults and the one Lexa had been fighting with took a step forwards.

Anya came up beside her, pulling out a knife of her own. 

“Bad move, bucko,” She snapped, holding her ground. 

After a few tense moments, the last of the watchdogs without a knife grabbed another’s shoulder and said something into his ear.

Finally, he closed the blade on his knife. 

“Fine.” He wiped his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood from his nose across his face. Then he nodded at the other boy who closed his knife as well, “Come on let’s go.” With that they left, turning into an alley quickly and like that, they were gone.

She looked over to Anya who was putting her blade in her pocket.

“Bucko?” She raised a brow at the older girl who just shrugged a small grin on her lips.

“You okay?” The other girl questioned, nodding to her stomach where she’d taken the punch.

Lexa nodded, “Just winded is all.” She turned to Octavia, who was sporting a busted lip, “You alright?” 

She grunted, nodding her head, “Yeah.” She spat out a mix of blood and saliva onto the ground, “Fucking westsiders.” 

“Come on-” Lincoln started, only for Anya to cut him off.

“Seriously?” She scoffed, “We just put our asses on the line for you and all you can say is ‘fucking westsiders?” The response made her panic,

“No- I mean- I didn’t mean you guys just-”

“Right,” Lexa said, sarcasm dripping from every word, “Just fucking westsiders.”

She opened her mouth, letting out a small noise before sighing and closing her mouth.

“Sorry,” She ran a hand through her hair, “That was a dick thing to say. Thank you all for helping me, seriously.” Lexa nodded at her, crossing her arms over her chest.

Anya smirked, “Next time, react faster when you get surrounded and we won’t need to help you.” 

She let out a noise -half scoff, half laugh- and shook her head.

After touching her lip gingerly and looking at the blood on her finger she looked up at them again.

“I’ve gotta get home or my brother’ll get worried but really, thank you.” She nodded at them a final time before turning away and heading down the street. After watching her go for a few paces Lexa turned to the group around her. 

Gustus was giving her a look.

“What’s the look for?” She questioned, nodding her head at him.

He rubbed at his jaw, “I’m just saying, Titus, is going to be pissed if this gets back to him.” Lexa shrugged at that.

“Titus always pissed about something. I’ll take the blame.”

Lincoln shook his head, “You don’t need to we all made a choice to help him. Even Gustus.” He sent a weighted look at the other boy who raised his hands in surrender.

“Hey I made the choice to help him, I’m  _ just _ saying,” He replied defensively.

Anya rolled her eyes, “Stop bickering, let’s go get some food.” She turned to cross the street, calling over her shoulder, “I want ketchup chips.”

“Ketchup chips fucking suck, we’re getting pretzels” Lexa replied as she started to cross the street.

“Don’t make me fight you, Lexa!”

Lexa grinned, the pain in her stomach mostly faded as she jogged up behind Anya and hopped onto her from behind, wrapping her arms around her neck.

The other girl shook her head minutely but kept walking with Lexa on her back.

If they could survive three Azgeda -Hell, if they could survive the first week of her senior year- what couldn’t they survive. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what yall think

**Author's Note:**

> if you think they're slightly au please keep in mind that even though lexa is in a gang and in a position of leadership/maturity she's still literally a hormonal teenager and is allowed to mess around with her friends and not be an Edge Queen™
> 
> n e ways 
> 
> review n shit if you want more. yalls comments really does decide whether i put more chapters out.


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